The Nigeria U23 team will have Kelechi Nwakali as captain when they play their first game against Ivory Coast in the Africa U23 Cup of Nations which will begin in Egypt this weekend, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.
Nwakali will wear the captain armband in the absence of Azubuike Okechukwu who will join the team after the first game owing to club duties with his Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir.
Basaksehir insist on releasing the midfielder starting from the first break of the international window, which is a day after the Nigerian team start their campaign. Plans are however on the way for them to allow him remain with the team until after the semi final.
Coach Imama Amapakabo will in his absence rely on Nwakali as vice captain while Ndidfreke Effiong will act as his deputy for the first game. The players have been informed of the decision by the coach of the team.
Already the team has trained twice in Egypt as they continue to fine tune preparations ahead of their first game with almost all of the invited foreign based players expected to arrive the camp of the team later this week bar Okechukwu.
